The 1910 Buick Bug Race Car With Video

“I know what you’re thinking, when you think of Buick. You tend to think of big land barges” – Jay Leno. You may or may not know, however, during the early 1900’s Buick was focusing on building some of America’s finest race cars. Case in point, the 1910 Buick Bug. What’s more, this fine example showed up to Jay Leno’s Garage compliments of Sloan’s Museum in Flint, Michigan. At first glance, you’ll notice the radiator sits on top of the car. Believe it or not actually this design did a great job of cooling the engine and its pill shaped design helped with aerodynamics. With piston rings the size of coffee cans, the OHV 622ci 4-cylinder engine only produced a paltry 57hp. It was backed by a three-speed transmission and the car weighed around 2,600lbs.

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What’s more, the Buick Bug came with a ton of racing firsts. For instance, it was the first ever center-driven vehicle. Also, instead of relying on a solid piece of rubber, the tires were actually pneumatic and filled with air. Unfortunately, Louis Chevrolet crashed the car he helped design after a tire failure during testing on the Indianapolis track. Chevrolet survived, of course, by ducking into the cockpit. Luckily, the cockpit had been designed with a crudely shaped roll bar, which consisted of thick steel bands that lined the inside and shaped the cockpit. It proved the pneumatic tire technology was still in its infancy. Even the brakes were unique. A foot pedal and hand lever controlled the brakes, which were rear only.

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The water temperature, fuel pressure, and oil pressure are the only gauges on the car and the steering wheel is hand-crafted from wood and includes brass start-up controls. While the technology seems archaic in modern times, back in 1910 this was state-of-the-art. At the time, Flathead engines were more popular. However, the Buick Bug utilized David Dunbar Buick’s “valve-in-head” engine more commonly known as the overhead valve engine today. Virtually all modern engines are a derivative from Buick’s design and carry on today.

With goggles strapped to his face, and the spirit of an early 1900’s race car driver, Jay Leno takes the Buick Bug for a spin. You can see the car in action and catch all the fun he had in the video above.